Kaname spends more time researching the folklore of Jouga which gets her into trouble with the Vigilance Committee. I didn’t like how that guy who kidnapped her was panting though; it reminded me of Issei when he was aroused by Hiroshi. At first I thought he was having a similar reaction, but apparently he was just being inconspicuous by breathing heavily.
Synopsis: Hiroshi wakes up at home after being knocked unconscious by Nemuru. At school, despite the absence of Isuzu and Nemuru, everyone acts like nothing is different. I’m a little surprised that Hiroshi’s classmates weren’t all over him since Nemuru wasn’t there to keep them all at bay. Before class starts, Kaname tells Hiroshi to meet with her in the library after school again. There, she discusses the legend of the Jouga Wolves with him, sharing some of the inconsistencies of the story she discovered. So Kaname thinks the Jouga wolves aren’t really wolves but a sub-species of werewolves with human intellect, all living in one town. The Red Moon is ominous for the Werewolves of Jouga which sucks since it’s perpetually red and perpetually full. Boy did the Kuzumi family pick a BAD time to move – though it’s arguably a good time for Hiroshi’s dad to learn more about the Jouga Wolves. Maybe Hiroshi should consider confiding in his old man. Then he could write up his book, get it published, and move out of that creepy town.
Kaori’s condition surfaces again, though not with anymore information as to what’s happening to her or what the cause is. We just know that she is physically deteriorating, and as a result, she discontinues violin lessons with Mana. Which is odd because I was getting the feeling that she wanted to train Mana to replace her. There’s something about that music that maybe soothes the symptoms of the Werewolf urge to reproduce. Sakaki also goes to stalk visit Kaori, though he just hangs around outside, smoking by her rose trellis. He has another flashback about Mieko and their time together at University. Kaori shares that she had hoped to attend a music conservatory in Tokyo, but didn’t because she can’t leave the town. Then she moves on to tea and cake.
Sakaki’s motive is made clear in this episode: He’s out for Mieko’s revenge. But how he’s going to bring that about is still a mystery. He’s involved with far too many people, meeting with Nemuru’s uncle, that guy from the town meeting who supports dealing with “the one” problem-maker rather than seeing more of his Wolf Kin killed by Nemuru, and now he’s associated himself with Hiroshi.
Sakaki shares with Hiroshi about his own experience with the Wolf Hunters and when they killed his fiancée Mieko four years ago. At that time – much like with Hiroshi – the police station was empty when he went to report the incident, and when he returned to the scene of the crime, there was no evidence left behind. (The only difference is that Mieko was apparently killed during the day.) Hiroshi in turns shares that the Scythe Girl is Nemuru. Sakaki takes this bit of information and seems to make a little more sense of the situation than Hiroshi does – but then again, Hiroshi’s kind of slow.
When Kaname wakes up after being kidnapped, she finds herself in a holding cell, and who’s in the room next to her? The girl Issei kissed: Ichigaki Masami. Kaname lies to Masami to learn more about what’s happened to her. She confirms that after being kissed, she had changed into a God (or a Wolf), and that Gods are neither human nor inhuman – or perhaps more accurately that they start human and become something inhuman. With her sense of smell heightened, Masami eventually realizes that Kaname is lying and states that she (Kaname) smells like a “fallen”… Which is curious for two reasons: One because it raises the question of what Kaname is, and two is why she didn’t smell Kaname before she started talking to her.
Thoughts – or rather, Questions: After a short bout of understanding a little more of what’s going on, I’m back to being lost with a lot of questions swirling around in my head. When Nemuru’s uncle told Nemuru that he was looking after “that girl”, did he mean Isuzu? Or Kaname? And when they say they’re “treating” an infected, do they just lock them up? Do you think they’ll be test subjects for whatever drugs Sakaki and Dr Kushinada develop?
And about Mieko: She was in Jouga for her thesis. If she was killed, did she learn too much, or was she actually a Wolf returning to her hometown? Was she a human who was turned into a Wolf during her time there? Sakaki doesn’t appear to have any Wolfie instincts and doesn’t seem to be affected by Hiroshi’s scent, so we can assume that Mieko didn’t make him a Wolf if she was indeed a Wolf herself.
Do you think Kaori might be an experiment of bringing “The Fallen” back to life? A form of reincarnation for the Gods who have gone against the rules?
When Dr Kushinada came by to speak with Nemuru, why did she put her hand on her scythe? Does she not trust her uncle? Does she suspect him of working against her and the laws of their kind?
Anyway, on a somewhat completely separate topic, gg is having some internal complications, and as a result, they might disband. Fortunately they will continue subbing Ookamikakushi for us. Oh gg: you can’t disband! How will I spell ‘faggots’ without you?
blindability
Brian
Poro
jGLZA
Loba
TeamZer0
thaivuN
Bokutachi no BLOG 
Sakaki might be my favorite character by the end of this show, his desire for revenge and manner of plotting are making me think of an epic, Lelouch-style “use you up and then throw you away like an old rag” betrayal against the wolves since he seems to be getting an in with their leadership via the doctor. He’s going to have access to lots of their information and he could introduce whatever poison, virus, or other agent into the medicine they want him to develop for them. Or just withhold it once he creates it. Mmmm mmmm, plenty of delicious revenge could be in the show’s future.
I probably wouldn’t worry too much about [gg], they seem to go through drama like this every 6 months or so. Over the summer I think they had some big spat where people left and formed another group or something.
Lastly, a belated thanks for linking to the ‘advice for new bloggers’ post. A lot of people seemed to find it useful, so thanks for sending more people to check it out.
I really believe that the girl Nemuru’s uncle was talking about was Isuzu. The fact it was the next day makes it likely she is the one being mentioned. Besides considering how Nemuru was actually worried and not wanting to kill Isuzu probably would mean her Uncle would tell her about the situation as soon as he could. Besides he is a doctor and they are treating people like Isuzu with the pills to keep them under control. So seems likely they are just holding her there until she is judged to be stable.
I feel the issue with Kaname is a separate one. While she is being held along with that girl Issei kissed I still think that way. There must only be a few possible places in the village you can hold several people anyways. Maybe they are lying to those in charge saying these people have ‘become gods’ and need to be held. I can’t imagine they plan on holding people like that girl forever so there must be an adjustment period before they can return to the community.
Mieko is a real mystery. I have to wonder if she did learn too much. But another possibility is that she was like Hiroshi. Maybe she was especially dangerous and people couldn’t resist her. Something could have happened when someone came onto her and she resisted. The community then killed the wolf who might have run and then covered the whole thing up. At least that’s my theory for now. If they were engaged I’d be impressed if they hadn’t kissed once and he didn’t know that was her hometown. Curious to find out if I’m right though.
I have no idea about Kaori. So far things have stayed relatively logical so I’m not sure about bringing back the dead. But I wonder if she is something different from the rest of the community.
I don’t think Nemuru was planning anything with touching the scythe. It’s probably that what Isuzu said really hit her hard. No matter the rules she did murder someone’s brother. The fact he was a living person with family and friends can’t be lost on her. No matter how hard she might try to distance herself from others which is probably returned due to being feared she can’t escape caring about people. Having someone call her out like that had to hurt and she was probably remembering how many lives she’s taken.
Another episode and I’m still trying to figure things out.
Yep, I was thinking the same. She was the first person I thought of when her uncle mentioned it.
But her reaching for her scythe… that was interesting. I don’t think it was because she distrusted her uncle, but the action was so instinctual and defensive, I wonder if she thinks there’s someone out there coming to get her. If that’s the case, could she have been outside Hiro’s window because she’s looking for help?
@RP
Well if Nemuru is looking for help Hiroshi should really be the last person she looks to. The guy can’t even take care of himself right now. I feel she was there willing to talk about things. I’m really uncertain as to her motives. It could have been her willing to give an update about Isuzu for all we know.
@Ex.O: I was more than happy to direct more people to that post. It was really fantastic and just as helpful as it was fun to read.
I can see why you’d like Sakaki and it’ll be really interesting to see how he plays out his revenge since he seems to have an edge in with various people. For an outsider, he does have a LOT of information and power over this town – which is kind of scary considering how he’s purely out for revenge.
@FlareKnight: I was thinking Isuzu at first too, but then after re-watching it, I was wondering if they might have been talking about Kaname. I wonder if Isuzu is just a few holding cells away from her best friend Kana-chan, and how they’re treating her. Maybe the treatment is to just be away from someone like Hiroshi who brings out the bad wolf instincts.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the truth behind Mieko and Kaori though; I know the whole reincarnation is a stretch but I mean, what is she? Is it really a coincidence that she looks exactly like Mieko? And that they both think Sakaki has a charming smile (blech)?
@RP: I guess I was reading too much into the situation. It’s obvious she did sense someone coming, and I guess once she realized that the person wasn’t there to harm her, she could relax again.
@blindability
I’m not completely sure, but I still think it was Isuzu being mentioned. I mean as long as the timeline remains consistent the Uncle talked to Nemuru before Kaname was taken. It seemed like he was already taking care of whoever it was so it seems more likely to be Isuzu. Besides he mentioned the Center which is the medical treatment center of the area. Unless of course the Center has prison cells underneath it. Which considering the situation might actually be possible. My guess on treatment anyways would be increasing the dosage of those hassaku pills. Obviously they don’t have much, but a case like Isuzu would likely require it. Plus another part is probably just keeping her away from Hiroshi for a while until she is calmed down. I doubt it’s anything too extreme.
What confuses me about Kaname’s abduction is the reason. Was it that group that wanted to be rid of people like Hiroshi who were pushing people to the limits or because she was digging into things? Hopefully the next episode gives a hint.
There has to be some connection between Kaori and Mieko. It’s too weird to be a coincidence. Could always pull a story like Mieko not being dead, but only severely injured. They took her in and she lost her memory on top of becoming a god. Really have no idea at this point.
@FlareKnight: Maybe they did want to take all the “normal” people away, because the guy who kidnapped Kaname was breathing pretty hard – so maybe with all the environmental conditions, Kaname is starting to affect the Wolves as well?
Right… I think someone (I don’t remember which reviewer) had pointed out that in one of the incidences where a Fallen was “cleansed”, the scream came AFTER the Scythe fell, which might mean that “cleansing” is not “killing”.